Name: Sweet Rice and Pandan Custard Cake (Ketan Srikaya)
Yield: Makes 8 servings
Cuisine: Malay
Ingredients: 2 cups (400 g) glutinous rice; 10 pandan leaves, cut into 1-inch (2.5-cm) pieces, or 3 drops pandan essence; 1 tablespoon sugar; 1⅔ cups (385 ml) unsweetened coconut milk, plus more if necessary; ½ cup (120 ml) water; ⅔ cup (160 ml) unsweetened coconut milk; ½ teaspoon fine sea salt; Drop pandan essence or green food coloring (optional); 6 tablespoons all-purpose flour or rice flour; 3 tablespoons tapioca flour or cornstarch; 4 large eggs; ½ cup + 2 tablespoons (125 g) sugar; Vegetable oil for greasing; 1 pandan leaf, knotted

Preparation info

Makes
8
servings

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Mortar and Pestle

By Patricia Tanumihardja

Published 2024

About

Also called seri muka (pretty face) or puteri (princess) salat in Malay, this steamed layered cake is popular throughout the Nusantara region of Indonesia, Singapore, and Malaysia. The bottom is made from ketan, or glutinous rice, and the top layer is a coconut milk and pandan custard. The cake’s poetic names are meant to reflect the smooth, satiny finish of the top layer. Once sliced, each piece should have equal parts white rice and green custard. However, as they say, perfection is fleet